4 ms·
He's obviously mocking the use of the word... can people here not understand context?
by asdf21 6y ago
He's obviously mocking the use of the word... can people here not understand context?
- jjaaammmmy 6y agoso would it be ok to mockingly use the n word in the same way?
- DoofusOfDeath 6y agoI don't think there's a consensus on that. Regarding words that some persons find deeply offensive: - Some readers feel that using such words should be avoided simply because it's emotionally hurtful to certain individuals. Or because it reinforces beliefs they find abhorrent. Or for the pragmatic reason that it tends to end constructive discussion. - Other readers feel that having policies against using such words does more harm than good, and stifles free and honest discussion. And coddles individuals who are too easily offended, when they should in fact use it as an opportunity to mature. I think HN's audience skews more towards that first group. I'm sure other forums exist that skew the other way.
- pantaloony 6y agoFrom long observation: no, one thing HN is remarkably bad at, even compared to the rest of the web(!), is taking context into account. Usually that kind of thing is deliberate trolling when it happens elsewhere, but here I can never tell. It seems so sincere.
- jfengel 6y agoIt's pretty clear to me that it was sarcastic, but sarcasm reads really badly on the Internet. In open forums, it's best avoided -- there are just too many ways for it to go wrong. (Especially when not everybody is a native speaker, which makes sarcasm even harder to recognize.)